The romance of running the Puketapu Store

The Puketapu Store has been shut since late 2022. Photo / Ric Stevens

An old face is about to become the new proprietor of the Puketapu Store.

The store has been shut for some months, but former local Jaycen Maxwell is about to assume ownership.

Maxwell grew up on the family farm - just down from the store on Dartmoor Road - and said sentimentality was a factor in the purchase.

He’s due to take possession of the property on February 28, and hopes to re-open the business by the middle of March.

Maxwell will be known to some as the president of the Hawke’s Bay Motorcycle Club and will be returning to Puketapu from Waipukurau, where he has been a manager for irrigation company Irri-Max.

Having grown up in Puketapu, Maxwell said he was well aware of how important the store was to the local community. First established in the 1880s, groceries, takeaway food and petrol are among its many offerings.

It’s the latter which has held up the purchasing process, Maxwell said, with the petrol tanks having to be recertified before the deal can be finalised. That should all be signed off this week.